Bullying affair: ECJ raises sanctions against Monica Semedo
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg decided on Wednesday to lift the sanctions against former MEP Monica Semedo. “The court raises the decisions issued by the President of Parliament. The decisions have irregularities that affect Ms. Semedo's defense rights, ”says the court's press release.
As a reminder: A former assistant Semedos submitted a complaint in November 2022 about bullying in the European Parliament. An investigation was then initiated by an advisory committee. This came to the conclusion that the allegations were justified and recommended that Monica Semedo be entitled to daily allowance for 20 days. The President of the European Parliament reduced the punishment for ten days.
Semedo declared the “worst boss” of the legislative period
Semedo brought a lawsuit to the European Union court for the discretion of these decisions. The court states that « a non -confidential version of the report of the committee has been sent, which contains a summary of the testimonies of the witnesses, which does not reflect the content of the witnesses questioned in the course of the investigation ».
The court also notes that Semedo did not have the opportunity to take note of « the files on which the decisions relating to them are based on them ».
The judgment does not say that there was no bullying affair, but that the procedure was not okay.
« The European Parliament has taken note of the judgment and is currently examining it, » a spokeswoman for the EU Parliament told the « Luxemburger Word » and is considering appeal.
Mind you, this is only the second bullying case. The first case 2021 was not disputed by the former DP politician. The then President of Parliament David Sassoli had suspended the Luxembourg MP for 15 days for « psychological harassment of assistants ».
